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‘No plans’ to recognise Palestinian state, US vice president says

‘No plans’ to recognise Palestinian state, US vice president says

NewsFeed The US has “no plans” to recognise a Palestinian state, according to US Vice President JD Vance, who blamed the lack of a “functional government” to recognise. Vance was speaking during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in southern England. Published On 8 Aug 20258 Aug 2025 Adblock test (Why?)

China welcomes new US-Russia contact as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war

China welcomes new US-Russia contact as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war

China’s President Xi Jinping has told Russia’s Vladimir Putin he is pleased to see Moscow maintain contact with the United States to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The remarks during a phone call between the two leaders on Friday come after the Kremlin said President Putin would meet US President Donald Trump in the coming days. During the phone call, Xi said China would maintain its stance on the need for peace talks and a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. The Kremlin said Putin had called his Chinese counterpart to update him on the latest US-Russia talks, during which Xi expressed support for a “long-term” solution to the Ukraine conflict. The call between Xi and Putin was their second in less than two months. Putin is expected to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The two countries have further bolstered their economic, trade and security cooperation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered a sharp deterioration in Moscow’s relations with the West. China has never denounced Russia’s war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow. Beijing insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine. Trump has voiced growing frustration with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace in Ukraine and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, including China. Advertisement The US president on Wednesday said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 percent duties he has already imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil. In response to those remarks, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that Beijing’s trade and energy cooperation with Russia was “just and legitimate”. “We will continue to take reasonable measures to ensure energy security based on our own national interests,” Guo Jiakun said in a statement. Calls with other allies Putin and Trump are set to hold talks, although no firm date or venue has been set. Both sides have confirmed preparations for a summit are under way and have suggested that a meeting could take place next week. China has been mentioned in media reports as a possible venue for the Putin-Trump summit, with speculation that Trump could join Putin there in early September. The Kremlin also said Putin had spoken to the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and briefed them on talks he held with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday. Putin also discussed Ukraine in a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported. Indian President Narendra Modi also held a phone call with Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and bilateral relations. “Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine,” Modi said on X. The Indian president added that he looked forward to hosting Putin in India later this year, without specifying the date. Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2025 Pause in conflict may be ‘close’ The calls came amid rising hopes for a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, now in its fourth year. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that a pause in the conflict could be close, after speaking to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tusk said Zelenskyy was “very cautious but optimistic” and that Ukraine was keen that Poland and other European countries play a role in planning for a ceasefire and an eventual peace settlement. “There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict – I don’t want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict – is closer than it is further away,” he told a news conference on Friday. “There are hopes for this.” Advertisement Trump’s efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered little progress. Russia’s bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace. Almost two weeks ago, Trump moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia, as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, if no Kremlin moves towards a settlement were forthcoming. The deadline expired on Friday. It was unclear what steps Trump intended to take as a consequence. Adblock test (Why?)

Bayern Munich veers from Rwanda sponsorship after criticism

Bayern Munich veers from Rwanda sponsorship after criticism

German football club to shift away from ‘Visit Rwanda’ sponsorship after criticism from fans. Bayern Munich has signalled it will cut down on “Visit Rwanda” branding as it moves “away from a commercial sponsorship” with the African nation facing a backlash over alleged support for rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Bayern dismissed allegations of “sportswashing” when it signed a five-year deal with Rwanda in 2023. It included advertisements in the stadium and what Bayern called events “to promote tourism and investment opportunities in Rwanda”. At the time, it replaced a sponsorship deal with Qatar. Rwanda has similar sponsorships with European football giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. Some Bayern fans displayed a large banner at a game in February protesting against the deal amid accusations from the United Nations that Rwanda has backed rebels in the DRC. Now the German football champions say they have reached a new deal with Rwanda that turns the existing sponsorship into a three-year agreement focusing on developing young football players at a Bayern-affiliated academy in the country. “In constructive talks about our future direction, we agreed that a very special part of our relationship with [the Rwanda Development Board (RDB)] was the developmental nature of our work in Kigali through the FC Bayern Academy,” Bayern Chief Executive Jan-Christian Dreesen said on Friday in a statement. “We are therefore transforming our commercial partnership into a talent programme and expanding the FC Bayern Academy in Kigali together with the RDB as both a football and social initiative. This remains perfectly aligned to our strategic objective of developing playing talent in Africa.” Advertisement Bayern didn’t specify how soon it would drop “Visit Rwanda” branding as part of the move, which it described as a transition. As of Friday afternoon, the branding was still displayed under a section of the Bayern website listing club sponsors and partners. RDB Chief Executive Jean-Guy Afrika was quoted by Bayern as saying the changes to the partnership aimed to “accelerate sports development”, adding: “This continued partnership with FC Bayern helps ensure that talent development remains anchored in our broader vision to position Rwanda as a global hub for tourism, investment, and high-performance sport.” Rwanda’s presence in European football has grown steadily since 2018 when it first partnered with Arsenal to put “Visit Rwanda” branding on the London club’s shirt sleeves. An agreement with PSG was signed in 2019 and renewed in April this year. It covers branding in the stadium and included shirt-sleeve sponsorship at the Club World Cup. A three-year deal to sponsor Atletico was agreed in April, including branding on training and warm-up shirts. Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23 rebel group, the strongest of more than 100 armed groups vying for dominance in the mineral-rich eastern DRC just across the border from Rwanda. Rwanda also has been accused of exploiting the eastern DRC’s minerals, used in smartphones, advanced fighter jets and much more. Rwandan authorities alleged that some of the people who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to the DRC and are either working with or are being protected by the Congolese army. They have denied involvement in the DRC’s minerals sector and said any security action taken is to protect its own territory. Adblock test (Why?)

A Diktat Too Far: How US tariff threat is pushing India East

A Diktat Too Far: How US tariff threat is pushing India East

After five rounds of talks, what was expected to be a quick trade deal has stalled. The disputes are foundational, centering on U.S. demands for greater access to India’s large farm and dairy markets, and a more contentious point: India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.